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Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Drucker and the mega-church success

Drucker provided a vision that is imbedded in every powerful, and usually larger successful organization.

All my years in Quality can probably be summed up as... Give the Customer what he wants!

Anyway, I have been puzzled that these mega-churches should grow so much, when our inner-city Churches get so little response from poor White and Black folks. I wonder how many poor people are really in that mega-church?

How can it be that these 17,000 would not want our Church in it’s fullness?

Then this from the article…

One perhaps unexpected example of Druckerism is the modern mega-church movement. He suggested to evangelical pastors that they create a more customer-friendly environment (hold back on the overt religious symbolism and provide plenty of facilities). Bill Hybels, the pastor of the 17,000-strong Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, has a quotation from Mr Drucker hanging outside his office: “What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer consider value?”

Nothing new here from the business perspective…What is our business?Who is our customer?What does the customer consider value?

Business considers those points all the time. But is it right to allow that capitalist analysis to create a 17,000 member Illinois church? What in the world do you end up with?

Obviously, this can be mega-successful. Although these churches must ” hold back on the overt religious symbolism and provide plenty of facilities”. Just how can that pastor reconcile his approach with doing God’s work?

I hesitate to be too criitical of the church, since like St. Paul and St. Francis, it might be trying to function as being all things to all people. In which case, I hope they have a plan to move the people up to some sort of “high church” subgroup so that they may continue progress from their beginning journey.

If they don’t have such a plan, then I hope the Spirit will shephard them to our Catholic Churches when they are ready for solid food.